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This article contains spoilers for the Season 5 premiere of Power Book III: Raising Kanan.
Fans have always known that Kanan Stark was lonely, but as the season ended The third book of power: Raising CanaanIt’s becoming more and more clear how he got there. The series ended its fourth season with a blank screen and a gunshot, leaving viewers wondering if Kanan (Mikay Curtis) shot his mother, Rack (Patina Miller), or if something else happened after their tense confrontation.
The series has now returned with the premiere of its fifth and final season, determining the fate of one of its characters, Lou Thomas, played by Malcolm Mays. In the agonizing opening scene, Canaan accidentally shoots his uncle Lou Lou, who moved to prevent his bodyguard from shooting Canaan. Lou, bleeding, glares at his nephew before falling to the ground. In the blink of an eye, Rak rushes to him, but he dies in his sister’s arms. Make no mistake: This death sets the tone for the rest of Season 5, and Miller shared how he felt saying goodbye to the character — and Mays.
Patina Miller was saddened by Lou’s death in Raising Kanan. Her character, Rak, will need to come to terms with some things.
“It wasn’t easy,” she said. “This whole unit — we really love this material, we love these characters. I feel like we were perfectly cast in these roles.” Miller shared that when Mays first got the role and before she knew who it was, he warmly reached out to her via direct message to greet her.
“We went into this with love, and he’s someone who is very dear to me,” Miller said of their work on the series. “I had amazing moments with Malcolm on screen, and we were able to be safe for each other to play, and some of my best work with him was playing Lou-Lou. It was absolutely devastating. I will say that.”
Viewers have seen the relationship between Rak and Lou go through highs and lows, with her acting harshly or betraying his trust at times. As Lu’s older sister, Raqi tended to be domineering, but tempered with protection and love.
“This performance is of a character saying goodbye to her brother, but it is only real because of the love that I, Patina, have for Malcolm as a human being. Not being able to finish this story with him was heartbreaking.”
She pointed out that we do not know who will survive Bauer, and when she read the script for this episode, it hit her in the heart. “Knowing that Lou Lou was finally turning to Raq and knowing how much she loved him…it was devastating.” According to Miller, Lou’s death will affect the story in the upcoming episodes. “The bond has been broken. Someone is missing now.”
Showrunner and executive producer Sascha Penn explained how Lou-Lou’s death was a natural part of the series’ narrative. “The story kind of tells us the direction it wants to go,” he added, adding that it has evolved in its own way. “In the case of Raising Kanan, we always aimed to tell the origin story of this incredibly polarizing character who was scary and violent. What were the things he did to turn him into that man?”
Exploring that has guided how things unfold in this final season, including Uncle Lou’s murder. “He didn’t start out the way he ended up,” Penn said of Kanaan. “I think, on some level, every part of the story we tell answers that question, and this is just part of that answer.”
Kanan is on a more destructive path in this final season of Raising Kanan.
This final season is going to get even more brutal and violent
When I spoke to the cast and Ben before Season 5 debuted, a common theme kept coming up in our conversations: “The chickens come home to roost.”
Not only will the Thomases be dealing with their enemies on the streets, but lies and secrets will be exposed as the show goes on. “I think that’s what we’re going to see in this final season,” Ben said. “All of these secrets that have been kept for a very long time, and again, lies that have been perpetrated for a very long time, have really come to the surface in ways that I think are surprising and frightening and in some cases, violent. This is a family on the brink.”
Fans will see how all of this plays out over the next seven episodes, but Ben ultimately expressed that he accomplished what he wanted to accomplish in this series as a whole.
“I always thought it would be five seasons,” he said. “I really feel like I was able to tell the full story of the Thomas family.”
As for Miller, she told me that this season we will see Rak “in her darkest form” and “her most volatile form.” Lou’s death isn’t necessarily the only catalyst, but it certainly contributes to what we see and how the show ultimately ends. Saying goodbye to Mays and the series was difficult for the star, but as she reflected on reading the final script, she shared why she was thrilled for fans.
“I’ve done some really cool things, and it’s an actor’s dream to be able to do what I was able to do on this show,” Miller said. “So, I didn’t want it to end. But I’m very happy with the way the story ends. People may love it, they may hate it. I think they’ll be satisfied. I’m excited for people to see it, but it’s been hard.”
Raising Kanan Season 5 airs on Starz every Friday and will conclude its final stretch in August.
